April 2, 2012
Massachusetts

Opposition group spent $45,000 to fight the Madaket wind turbine project

By Jason Graziadei, I&M Senior Writer, The Inquirer and Mirror, www.ack.net 2 April 2012

Common Sense Nantucket, the group that formed to oppose the Madaket wind turbine, spent more than $45,000 to fight the project, according to a campaign finance report filed Monday morning.

Voters at the 2012 Annual Town Meeting overwhelmingly rejected a proposed $3.9 million appropriation to build a 325-foot wind turbine at the Madaket landfill on Saturday, and Common Sense Nantucket played a key role in fostering a strong and vocal opposition to the project.

As a local ballot question committee, Common Sense Nantucket is required to disclose its finances eight days prior to the election on April 10, the same schedule set for candidates in the Board of Selectmen contest and other races.

The group’s campaign finance report showed that it raised just over $54,000 from more than 60 individuals, most with addresses near the proposed site of the turbine in Madaket. Its reported $45,620 in expenses included: fees paid for legal representation by island attorney Arthur Reade; several paid consultants who produced reports on the potential impacts of noise and on property values from the turbine; political advertisements about the project; and money for a public information session held at the Miacomet Golf Club.

For more information on this year’s campaign finance reports, check back to www.ack.net and pick up Thursday’s Inquirer and Mirror for complete coverage.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/04/02/opposition-group-spent-45000-to-fight-the-madaket-wind-turbine-project/